Research & Innovation

Since 2012, Peugeot Design Lab’s automotive designers have been involved with several aviation projects, having designed an airplane seat and the exterior design of a new helicopter. Come and take a closer look.
 

A flying, or hover board, is the futuristic project that the former Jet Ski world champion, Franky Zapata, is working on. Dubbed the Flyboard Air, the machine is undergoing real flight-testing.
 

On 7th May at Minden-Tahoe Airport (USA), the head of Airbus Group conducted a test flight in the Perlan II high altitude glider, which this summer will attempt a flight to the stratosphere, at 17 miles (27 km) altitude.
 

On 30 March, the Volocopter VC200 executed its first manned flight. The test-pilot was able to verify the manoeuvrability of the electric multi-rotor in the air and test two important functions.
 

The annual conference of Clean Sky, the European research programme that aims to reduce the environmental impact of aircraft by 2020, was recently held in Brussels. The priority is synergy between industry and research.
 

The US space agency is developing a coating for better aircraft air penetration, with the aim of reducing airline fuel bills. The bug hunt is open.
 

To take-off or land a helicopter today needs a flat, stable surface, but that may soon change. US studies are being undertaken with a view to develop a rotorcraft with articulated landing gear. Watch the video. Read the article.
 

High-tech toilets for sanitised aircraft, is what Boeing engineers have just developed. Inside, there are lots of touchless technologies and ultraviolet rays. And in only three seconds 99.99% of microbes are destroyed.
 

NASA has just awarded twenty million dollars to Lockheed Martin for the development of a greener, and quieter, supersonic airliner than Concorde, to be added to the many other projects already underway.
 

Arca Space Corporation, headquartered in New Mexico (USA), is preparing to market the ArcaBoard, a hovering skateboard, which can be used to move around over land or water at a speed of up to 12 mph (20 km/h).
 

On Friday, 19 February, at Mojave in California, Virgin Galactic unveiled their new spaceship, and with it, the dream of commercial space flight has been revived. Watch the video. Read the article.
 

The most powerful aeronautical wind tunnel in the world will benefit from a special grant from the French Defense Ministry to prevent its collapse. Ground stabilisation work will be spread over 2016-2017. Details follow.
 

After the inflight disintegration of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo in October 2014, a second vessel, in its final stages of production, will be presented on 19 February in Mojave, California. Space tourism begins afresh.
 

The EHang 184 caused a sensation when introduced at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronic Show recently. The Chinese multi-rotor is able to transport a passenger completely autonomously.
 

Windspeed Technologies have patented a concept that could revolutionize the way we see flying. The American company has created a teardrop canopy that, when integrated into the fuselage, will give passengers a panoramic view of the sky.
 

After six years of development, Liebherr-Aerospace is preparing to flight test an electrical air-conditioning pack within the framework of the JTI-Clean-Sky European research project.
 

By its 2017 marketing, the Volocopter VC200 will be a very easy to fly electric helicopter. The machine’s movement controls will be carried out using a simple joystick - currently under test.
 

Since our last report, 18 months ago, the American company Aerion project has accelerated. Dubbed, the AS2, their future supersonic business jet is taking shape.
 

On 18 November, the French National School of Civil Aviation (ENAC) hosted the Aeronautics and sustainable development forum. On this occasion, the highlight was an interactive model designed to accelerate the design of new aircraft instruments.